The Indy Power Rankings For September 22, 2015

Here we go with the Top 10 independent stars of the world this week on the Indy Power Rankings on The Barbwire Blog; where we rank the best professional wrestlers from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Canada to Mexico, from Europe to Japan. we’ll count down the 10 most popular wrestlers in the world this week, hot off the votes from the online poll as well as the votes from independent wrestling writers for the week ending September 22, 2014. Now, on with the countdown!

Indy Power Rankings for the Week of September 22nd, 2014

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1. Zack Sabre Jr. (@zacksabrejr)-Last week we had our first ever female in the #1 spot in Christina Von Eerie…this week, we get our first UK talent in the #1 spot in 2014 (Rockstar Spud did it in 2013)! Despite being ranked multiple times in 2014, Sabre has yet to grab the elusive #1 spot. This week, most of the official voters had to give a nod of the hat to him after he won the UK Super 8 Tournament after beating Marty Schurll, Dave Mastiff, and Will Ospreay. There were a few detractors though, as he did lose a tag team match to the London Riots, but the strength of his tournament victory was enough to put him over the top when no one was particularly DOMINANT as has been the case with a few other weeks. One of the UK’s top talents no doubt deserves this top ranking! #6 in the online poll.

2. Ricochet (@KingRicochet)-When we go a week without mentioning his name in the Top 10, it’s pretty bizarre, but after his success over the weekend, he’s back again! The 8 time former #1, current DGUSA Open the Freedom Gate Champion, and HOG Champion retained the HOG title vs. Smiley on 9/19 and then followed that up with a 6 Man Elimination Match win at XWA vs. some of the top talent on the East Coast. This ranking combined with his many other rankings in the past year, just solidify his spot at #1 in the IPR 100 for 2014. The year’s not over yet, however, so the question remains…can he hang on to the #1 spot when the year ends? Time will tell.

3. People’s Champion. Shynron (@Dragon_Shynron)-He was dangerously close to #2 and even #3 this week, but for whatever a reason a couple of the official voters snubbed him and cost him what could have been his first #1. That being said, he easily won the fan poll in a dominating performance where he collected 95 votes and more than doubled anyone else this week. The CHIKARA Rey De Voladores Tournament winner absolutely earned this very high ranking and we hope to see more from the Chile Lucha Libre World Champion in 2014.

4. Josef Von Schmidt (@JosefVonSchmidt)-If you want his list of titles, go look at the poll, because they are NUMEROUS. He has also won 9 of his last 10 matches. With wins vs. Tony Atlas, Brian Fury, and then a 3 Way victory vs. Saru saru and Damien Darko, it was impossible to deny him this week. He’s been making appearances in the Top 10 sporadically throughout 2014 and this is just another solid ranking for the title collector. If his domination can continue, he’ll be making a major impact in the IPR 100 this year. #2 in the online poll with 41 votes.

5. Tommaso Ciampa (@ProjectCiampa)-With perhaps the biggest single victory over the weekend, the former ROH World Television Champion was not forgotten this week. He is the NEW XWA Champion after defeating former champion David Starr & Antonio Atama in a 3 Way on 9/20. 2014 has absolutely been what could be considered his breakout year after recovering from injury. It’s only a matter of time before he collects some more titles to finish off the year.

6. Ashley Sixx (@AshleySixx)-It is absolutely fantastic to see him having the success he’s having after beating cancer. He is a true inspiration and this week, he rode that wave of momentum to a victory in the Alpha-1 King of Hearts Tournament on 9/21 by beating All Ego and Justin Sane to come away with the win. This isn’t the first time he’s been on our radar, but he definitely kicked in the door to the Top 10 this week with that very important win. We can only hope for more good things from him going forward.

7. Josh Alexander (@Walking_Weapon)-A 3-0 weekend was just what the doctor ordered to get ½ of Monster Mafia into the Top 10 this week. Granted, a couple of his wins were in tag team matches, but don’t forget he won the BKPW Tag Team Titles and then retained the Fringe Tag Team Titles to finish off the weekend. For all the talent he has, he hasn’t been ranked enough to equal it. Hopefully this is the week that he turns the corner and goes on a long run.

8. Satoshi Kojima (@cozy_lariat)-The former #1 used a mix of quantity and quality to get himself right back into the Top 10 this week. While all of his wins this week (and last) were in some form of tag team match, you can’t discount his success after winning 9 of his last 10 matches at New Japan. Impressive stuff from one of the top wrestlers in the entire world. In 2015 when everyone in New Japan is eligible for the Indy Power Rankings (not just wrestlers who have either toured North America or Europe this year) it will be interesting to see if he can grab another #1. In the meantime, that’s two straight weeks at #8 for Kojima.

9. Reed Bentley (@TheReedBentley)-The Evolution Pro Wrestling Elite Champion defeated Rudy Switchblade on 9/18 to retain that very title. While that may not seem like a HUGE victory like some of the ones he’s had in 2014 previously, it’s his consistency that pushed him into the Top 10 this week (with some support from the official voters of course). This was a week of parity and Reed “By God” Bentley definitely benefited from it.

10. Chase Matthews (@ChaseMatthews00)-This is not the first ranking for the PWAS Detroit Cruiser core Champion but it’s starting to become a habit. After knocking off Joseph Schwartz in a huge rematch over the weekend, he proved his worth to the official voters once again. He has been tearing it up and getting his name out there throughout 2014 and this week was no exception. We’ll expect to see more of him in the upcoming weeks and months. #8 in the online poll.

And there you have it, the top 10 of the best independent wrestling stars of the world as voted by the fans as well as independent wrestling writers across the country. To check out their official web site where YOU can participate in the weekly online poll voting, visit indypowerrankingsipr.wordpress.com as well as their Facebook page at http://www.Facebook.com/IndyPowerRankings. They can be found on Twitter @IndyPowerRankin.

You can follow me on Twitter @matthewhollie and the OFFICIAL Barbwire Blog Twitter @BarbwireBlog